The news that Mike Clevinger is now going from the Cleveland Indians to the San Diego Padres really should not alter his fantasy trajectory all that much. Sure, the Padres score so many runs and play in a pitcher-friendly ballpark, but Clevinger was already among the top starting pitchers in the sport, rostered everywhere. Those in NL-only formats should clearly go after him, though for weekly leagues that might mean waiting until the end of this week.
There is slight concern about the fact Clevinger issued five walks in a few recent outings, and perhaps his eventual durability is in question due to his wild throwing motion. His off-the-field decision-making cost him a few starts earlier this season and forced this odd trade between contenders, but still, his schedule the rest of the way could not be much better (Giants twice, Mariners, Rockies at home). He should be great in San Diego for now and beyond.
As ESPN Fantasy researcher Kyle Soppe notes, since the start of 2017 Clevinger ranks seventh in baseball in ERA and 16th in K/9 (minimum 400 innings for both). He has pitched six-plus innings without allowing two or more earned runs in half of his starts, which is excellent, and among the leaders here as well. If you make the case for Clevinger as a top-10 starting pitcher in fantasy for the rest of this season -- and for 2021 -- I will not argue.
As for the other pieces of this wild trade and their impact for fantasy, I do not see much. Perhaps Cleveland forces Josh Naylor into left field and gives him regular playing time, but he is not a difference-maker. A left-hander at the plate, he is slugging .303 against right-handed pitching. Last season, he slugged .415 against right-handers. Yawn. Simply put, Cleveland just could not wait to unload Clevinger. Cal Quantrill has pitched capably in a long-man role, but few think he has future ace status. Zach Plesac probably moves back into the No. 5 starter role.
One other thought on this trade: Adding Clevinger makes it more clear that the Padres have little-to-no intention of promoting awesome left-handed prospect MacKenzie Gore into their rotation during this irregular season. I see the reasoning, as Clevinger is fantastic, Gore is unproven. The Padres have stated that Gore will not assume a relief role, such as what the Rays did with David Price back when he was a rookie. Keep Gore stashed just in case Zach Davies starts to pitch more like expectations with more hits and fewer whiffs, but a promotion seems less likely now.